


'Cause Truth Is Such a Pain

by MyEnglishRose



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Angst, Crying, Everyone loves Roman, Fluffy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Self-Doubt, Swearing, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Sympathetic Remus Sanders, True Love's Kiss, also Remus being a protective bro because why not, blame Deceit Remus and Virgil for that one, boi literally needs love to exist, self-deprecating thoughts, that's the most important tag, they all cry at some point lmao, those tags are a mess I'm sorry, which really turns into everyone!angst lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 01:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20282953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyEnglishRose/pseuds/MyEnglishRose
Summary: Deceit and Remus find Roman unconscious, with no way to wake him up. The imagination is also suddenly completely blank as if everything has been erased. Reluctantly, they go find the other sides in order to work out how to save Roman.Angst turns into fluff when Patton innocently wonders if, like in those fairy tales, they can wake Roman up with true love’s kiss.





	'Cause Truth Is Such a Pain

**Author's Note:**

> so, in my lifespan as a fan, I’ve been shipping personification of the zodiac signs, then personifications of countries, then rocks, and now different sides of one person? Yeah.  
Also in this Remus is a bit toned down and I guess ooc for the sake of the story and also cuz i dont know how to write him yet but i kinda gave him the role of the older brother who likes to tease his sibling but if anything ever happens to them, he'd be out for blood. Roman's and Remus' relationship in canon probably won't go like that but, y'know, it's fun to imagine  
Also also, got inspired by the fact that in Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts, Roman has barely any screen time but he is there all episode on the floor. Unconscious. While the sides are trying to deal with Remus lol  
Anyway! This is my first fanfic in this fandom, and very self-indulgent really, i just wanna give all the love to Roman okay
> 
> By the way!! English isn't my first language so i apologise in advance for errors that passed through my countless rereadings x

It is oddly silent and devoid of colours in the imagination, Remus notices immediately once he first opens the door. Deceit, following him closely, is fidgeting with his hands, sort of unease and anger surrounding him. Remus knows why, even if unconsciously, they both sensed it when waking up that morning.

Something changed in the whole mindscape. Everything feels heavier, quieter. It had gradually become darker and darker as the day went by, and while Patton, Logan and Virgil didn’t really notice as they spend more time in the lighter spectrum of Thomas’ mind, Remus and Deceit couldn’t just ignore this change. Somehow, they knew it had something to do with Roman, as he is the main responsible for the mindscape’s atmosphere, and Thomas’ imagination. Except, his brother wasn’t in his room when they went to see him, and he wasn’t with the other three sides either, so there was only one other place to check.

As soon as Remus actually steps inside the imagination, a chill runs through his spine — but the pleasant — as well as sort of dreadful — kind. As he and Deceit retrace the path supposed to be leading towards Roman’s castle, they only can hear their own footsteps. It’s like everything has been erased, back to being a blank canvas. And… as much as Remus has always fantasised about this happening, he… doesn’t like the thrill of power he suddenly feels in his veins, nor does he appreciate Deceit’s expression going from worry to pure despair as they approach what once was a luxurious castle.

And find Roman collapsed on the ground instead.

So that is the weird feeling he has been feeling since that morning — both an immense power bestowed upon him because he suddenly is the only creativity here, but also his other half literally missing.

Deceit immediately drops on the ground to try to wake Roman up, gently shaking him, then more forcefully when nothing happens, meanwhile Remus summons a bucket of freezing cold water, and spilling it on his brother. It partially touches Deceit, who hisses at the coldness splashing his scales, but Roman remains unconscious.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Remus asks frantically.

“You’re the only creativity as of now.”

“And that’s… not good, right?”

Deceit frowns at him like surprised at such a statement.

“I expected you to be happy,” he points out.

“Why would I, I like to tease him and hit him every once in a while because that’s what siblings do y’know,” the Duke replies easily. “I don’t want him to _die_. Besides, I’m not Thomas’ ego, if Roman is down, doesn’t that mean—”

“Oh fuck,” Deceit groans. “No no no no, he needs to wake up! It never happened before…”

And it really never. Every once in a while, a side could just duck out for a few days until it became critical for Thomas’ well-being so everyone would find that side and bring them back to work. Sometimes a side would get sick, or hurt as the result of something that happened to Thomas in real life like that one time he completely blew up a performance, ending up with Roman sick and covered in bruises because, well, bruised ego and all that.

Deceit did notice those bruises appearing every once in a while on Roman’s skin (and more and more often as the days went by), not because they’re visible — the Prince hides them under some foundation — but because he flinched away every single time someone tried to touch him and Deceit can spot a lie from a million miles away.

However, it never led to the side just collapsing on the ground.

Delicately, Deceit reaches forward and checks if any visible bruises could be seen on Roman’s face or neck, but couldn't spot any visible sign of makeup either. So, that’s odd.

“As much as it pains me, we should go get the others,” Deceit concedes finally.

He doesn’t move, though, still sat next to Roman’s sleeping form and his gloved hand rested on the Prince’s cheek.

Remus doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, eyeing his best friend with an amused smile, and then, “Wait ’til we manage to wake him up before you fuck him, though maybe he’s into somnophilia or maybe you are—”

Deceit’s glare is what cuts him off. “I _despise_ you.”

“Aw, I love you too!”

The cold-blooded side only rolls his eyes as he finally stands up.

“Let’s go find the others.”

“We’re leaving him there?” Remus asks.

“The imagination’s empty, nothing can happen to him. Or you could summon something to protect him, you are in charge of this now.”

“Oh, alright.”

With one snap of his fingers, a bed appears under Roman’s form, with dark vines-like frames. Laying next to the bed is now a black dragon, eyeing both Deceit and Remus with careful green eyes. Neither of the sides move though, knowing exactly the creature won’t do anything until Remus orders something.

Which he does, “Protect my brother in case anything happens, got it?”

He then gently pets the scales of the dragon who only lets out a small fiery breath to communicate he understood his mission. Remus then turns around.

Deceit sends him a knowing look under which the Duke flushes a little.

“Ssh, we can’t make the others actually think I care about my brother, so we’re not telling them I did this, we’ll pretend that bitch managed to summon this before collapsing like the drama queen he is.”

Deceit huffs. “_Right_. You do, though, care.”

“Yeah,” Remus easily confirms, shrugging with an odd sadness in his eyes. “Which is why I’m ready to beat the shit out of the so-called light sides, let’s go!”

And just like that, he bolts towards the exit of the imagination. It takes under barely a second for Deceit to run after him shouting an all too familiar “Remus, no!”

——————

Patton is pacing around the lounge in the commons, Logan is frantically trying to understand what is happening with Thomas while Virgil is hiding more and more under his hoodie as the whole mindscape keeps getting darker and darker.

“Wait!” Patton suddenly exclaims as he comes to a halt, like a lightbulb lighting up above his head at last, “Where’s Roman?”

This does make Logan look up from his notes and Virgil stop curling up in himself. The anxious side frowns, wondering how they didn’t notice the loud prince’s absence before.

“He can’t have ducked out, can he?” Virgil wonders.

“Anyone checked up on him this morning?” Logan asks, but he’s looking at Patton pointedly.

“W-Why are you only looking at me!” the moral side protests, but he does feel a pang of guilt run through his chest. He does usually check on everyone in the morning so that no one misses breakfast, when he passed Roman’s door, he got no answers and just assumed Roman was off to another adventure in the imagination as per usual. Turns out, today is not the usual, with the way everything feels so heavy and… quiet, and the way Thomas has been going around his room doing nothing today.

Now that he thinks about it, Roman usually tells them when he's off to some adventure, so they wouldn't have to worry. 

“Alright losers!” A booming voice suddenly interrupts just as Remus comes crashing down the stairs, his morning star in his hand. “I’m gonna need you all to listen—”

In no time, the demented side finds himself on the floor with a glaring Virgil on top of him, pointing a knife between his eyes. Remus smiles.

“Kinky,” is his only response as the anxious side frowns deeper. “Into blood play? Somehow that doesn't surprise me, you sly vampire.” 

“What did you do to Roman, again,” Virgil asks, completely ignoring Remus' teasing. 

“Nothing for once! I’m not the one responsible this time.” Remus smiles sweetly, barely batting an eye when Virgil moves the knife towards his throat. He still has his morning star in his hand, which he grabs more securely, ready to attack his once friend if he dares touch him anyway.

“You know he’s not one to lie, and you probably don’t want to cross him at the moment considering he’s the only creative side as of now,” Deceit appears then on top of the stairs, making his dramatic entry by going down each step ever so slowly.

Virgil quickly gets bored though and throws the knife towards the half-snake side. Deceit does stumble while trying to avoid it, though he keeps a straight face while doing so and Patton is not sure if he can laugh or not.

“Alright, what did you do, then, Deceit,” Virgil speaks up.

“He didn’t do anything either,” Remus intervenes again, “Also get off me, you heavy minx.”

Virgil groans but eventually gets up to let Remus stand up again.

“Okay, so, explanations, we need to fix this before Thomas’ mental state gets worse. Did Roman duck out?” Logan asks in a hurried tone.

He sure doesn’t like not knowing things.

“Worse, actually. He’s not waking up,” Deceit explains.

“What?” the three sides ask simultaneously.

And to the imagination, they go.

———————

Patton shrieks and hides behind Logan as soon as he sees the dragon guarding Roman. It’s the sound that triggers the creature to get up, looking at the sides menacingly, until his eyes fall on Remus who orders him to lay back down. So he does.

Deceit and Remus lead then the way, Deceit immediately going next to Roman’s still sleeping form, cradling his face as to check nothing happened during their absence.

Virgil walks forward without an ounce of hesitation or fear towards the black dragon still eyeing him suspiciously. Logan follows, trying to hide his nervousness, while Patton is still clinging to his shirt from behind.

And then their eyes fall on Roman.

While both Virgil and Logan freeze at the sight, Patton gasps and almost shoves Deceit on the side to get to the creative side’s… well, side. Fortunately, Deceit moves before that could happen.

“How can this even happen?” Patton asks, frantically looking between Logan and Deceit for one of them to provide some sort of explanation at least.

It is silent however for a while, as the two sides look at each other, like expecting one of them to have the much-needed answer, but nothing seems to come to their mind.

Then Remus speaks up, “You all done fuck up.”

“Excuse you, we’re not the one trying to kill him every two days?” Virgil replies.

Remus huffs. “Roman can take physical injuries and fight me back, it’s just a thing between us. Insults on his work, however…”

“You insult his work too,” Logan points out.

“I’m his brother, he doesn’t care about my opinion. He cares about yours, though.”

Deceit remains silent as Remus, Virgil and Logan start to argue about whose fault Roman’s current condition is. Instead, his eyes fall on Patton who is basically laying on top of Roman, hugging him tight and almost close to crying. Ironic, the deceitful side thinks, knowing how the moral side is maybe more at fault than any of the other sides.

“Patton—”

“I know,” Patton cuts him off quietly, but he doesn’t move. “It is my fault, isn’t it?”

Deceit is speechless for a few seconds, not expecting the moral side to be so self-aware suddenly. He sighs and shakes his head.

“Not only, really.” A little white lie won't hurt anyone for now. “We’re all responsible, Remus too, though he won’t admit it just yet. Because Roman did care, about his opinion too.”

Patton seems doubtful for a good second, probably trying to decipher if the cold-blooded side is lying or not, but only sincerity meets his gaze.

“Don’t talk about Roman in the past tense, we’ll rescue him, right? Like, he is still breathing, I can feel his heart. And—”

“You and Roman have never been a vital part of Thomas’ being.” Logan’s words towards Remus cut Patton off, voice oh so loud and painfully clear in the emptiness of the imagination.

Silence falls upon them as everyone stares at Logan in shock.

“That sounded bad—” the logical side tries to backtrack.

“And you’re right,” Remus interrupts him, in a surprisingly quiet tone. “Creativity is different from a feeling or an instinct, unlike morals, logic, self-preservation or fear, it is not instinct… but to Thomas, his creative mind is a huge part of who he is as an individual, he nurtured it for many years…” while saying that, he glances at Deceit who refrains a smile. “Yet Roman is gone and I am still here when I’ve been the part he’s repressed all his life.”

“That still sounded bad, and I apologise for that,” Logan still replies. “You may not be vital, but you are important to balance out Thomas’ overflowing and special imagination.”

“Oh yeah, _so_ overflowing, the imagination is currently full of butterflies and rainbows and Roman is clearly _not_ unconscious under our noses, either,” Deceit decides to break the moment. “Listen, instead of pointing fingers, let’s figure out how to fix this.”

“But in order to fix it, we have to identify what caused Roman to fall into this slumber,” Logan retorts.

It’s silent again, but Deceit can feel Virgil’s intense glare on him, so he levels him with an unimpressed look.

“Say what you have to say now, instead of just glaring at me.”

“Since when do you care about Roman when all you’ve ever done is manipulating him?” Virgil shoots straight to the point.

Logan makes a face but doesn’t speak up, for some reason, while Remus smiles wickedly, summoning his mace back in his hand and ready to attack, but Deceit stops him from doing anything with a simple hand gesture.

“Manipulate Roman? Oh, look how lowly you think of our Prince and me. Because, clearly, it’d be _such_ a smart move from me to get the one _everybody_ listens to on my side, right?” Deceit snarls, the sarcasm tasting bitter and angry on his own tongue. “Oh but wait, you all never listen to him anyway.”

Those words are familiar, almost sound like a broken record at this point after all the times Deceit pointed out this downright fact whenever they would argue about a decision Thomas needed to do. Every single time, Roman and Deceit were dismissed in favour of Patton's view of what is the best thing to do, and Virgil's view of what is safer to do. But life without taking risks, is a boring life, Deceit thinks.

“What he means to say is that he’s in love with Roman,” Remus blurts out, both because he couldn’t keep it in any longer and because he didn’t like where the discussion was going, an ugly feeling bubbling inside of him. An ugly feeling that makes him want to… hit something, out of anger and frustration. The other sides preferably. Speaking of which, Virgil, Patton and Logan look at him, eyes wide with what looked like worry. 

“Remus!”

“Am I wrong?”

“_Yes_!” Deceit hisses.

“He’s lying,” Logan points out easily.

“What I was saying,” Deceit begins again, trying to ignore half of his face blushing very hard right now. “Is that, my duty as self-preservation is to protect Thomas’ ego, literally and figuratively. Roman and I are intricately linked, there is no ill intention behind my doings – it is my job. And I've always done it even before Thomas acknowledged my existence.”

“You still fell in love in the process which wasn’t in the plan,” Remus teases again.

“Remus, shut up.”

“Never!”

“But then…” Virgil says slowly, interrupting the bickering. “Why is he in this state?”

“Well, I failed, obviously,” Deceit mumbles. “Because you three kept telling him I was trying to manipulate him so he just kept second-guessing every word I said. He trusted me at first, God did that feel good the first time he thanked me so genuinely, but then…”

He doesn’t finish his sentence, simply looking at Logan, Virgil and Patton, but then also glances briefly at Remus who, taken aback, takes a step back from his friend.

Yeah so, screw that “let’s stop pointing fingers” thing he said earlier.

“He is worth something in Thomas’ life, not just 0.2% of his time, and the saddest aspect of this all may be that I was the first and only one to remind him of that outside of himself. And that he thought I was _lying_.”

The atmosphere is heavy again, but Deceit guesses it is because of Remus’ sudden gloomy expression, his state of mind reflecting into the imagination of which he is the sole master right now. It gets darker somehow around them, and the dragon who was, until then, dozing off on the side, suddenly turns around, resting his head on the bed next to Roman.

Patton jumps away, startled and still afraid.

Deceit refrains a smile, knowing exactly what that meant.

Remus wants to hug his brother. Protect him.

Then, Virgil takes a deep breath.

“We really fucked up,” he admits, addressing Patton and Logan, who merely nod, albeit weakly, at his words.

“We indeed probably could have prevented this,” Logan agrees, nervously tugging at his tie. “If we had noticed before how closed off Roman was starting to be… We still do not have any explanation as to why this is happening, however.”

“Depression?” Virgil supplies, like it’s obvious. Maybe it is. It makes sense too and would explain why Remus is not in the same state as his brother as he encompasses the “bad” and troublesome thoughts.

“Uh,” the logical side sighs, frustrated to not have any clear answers. “Roman’s state is due to our lack of attention and affection we gave him lately, is there a way to show we care anyway?”

“Oh!” Patton exclaims, “maybe we need to kiss him!”

“Excuse you?” Literally everyone else replies.

“Sounds like you just want a reason to kiss my brother, you might want to watch your mouth,” Remus adds on, not so subtly lifting his mace up. 

“No, hear me out! It does make sense, right? If love is the answer, showing that we care through a kiss or something could… work?” the moral side explains, not so sure of himself either, though.

“Oh wait, he actually makes sense in the end,” Deceit concedes as Patton smiles proudly, content in having the half snake’s approval.

“True love’s kiss huh, never heard that one before,” Virgil mumbles.

“Wait, so we’re settling for that silly plan?” Logan interjects, but his cheeks are reddening at the mere idea. “This is ridiculous.”

“We don’t have anything else L, so unless your big brain can come up with something else,” the anxious side trails off with a shrug.

“You don’t seem to mind the idea, Virge,” Deceit teases. “For once you can be the Prince Charming instead of the villain.”

“Oh shut up, you just admitted you’re in love with Princey over here.”

“Meanwhile you are still denying it. Logan too. Which is ironic.”

“I do not want to be any part of that conversation,” Logan objects.

“Dee's right though,” Patton whispers. “I would know what feelings are.” Surprisingly, no shouts of “falsehood” can be heard after that, Logan only turns around with his hands on his cheeks.

He’s blushing. Hard.

Deceit smiles. Now it feels good to not be the only one embarrassed by the whole ordeal. As for Remus, he watches the whole scene with squinted eyes. He knows his brother is loved, the others are just really bad at showing it, and Roman is really bad at asking for it (or he’s afraid to do so) but he didn’t expect for all of their feelings to be _romantic_.

Remus is not jealous, really, romance is Roman’s cup of tea, not his, in fact, he wants to vomit at the mere idea of cute nicknames and holding hands. Too cutesy for him. The thing is, he only was aware of Deceit’s interest in his brother, and he was okay with that, even supportive, always giving Dee advice. It was a weird concept, his best friend and his brother together, but he slowly came to terms with it seeing how giddy Deceit was after every single one of his visits to Roman’s castle in the imagination, or how happy Roman was whenever he’d get some validation from the cold-blooded side.

But Patton, Virgil and Logan? Remus can’t… Remus can’t keep up with four people going after his baby brother (Roman is not younger, but goddamn is he so weak and easily knocked out compared to him). Especially when those three are the main reasons Roman is currently unconscious.

“You know what’s funny,” Patton muses, interrupting whatever bickering was happening. “Roman always wanted to live one of those fairytale-like stories. But he probably didn’t expect to be the one in need of saving, and also in the only fairytale trope he doesn’t like because of the lack of consent from the victim.”

“Wait, is he gonna be mad if kissing him actually works?” Virgil asks.

“I’m pretty sure he would be gladder to still be alive first,” Logan reasons.

“Cannot argue with that,” Deceit complies.

“Somnophilia,” is the only thing Remus adds, making everyone groan and cringe.

They stand in silence for a while, all blushing. Remus orders the dragon to leave Roman’s side and simply lay down next to the bed, and now, he waits for one of the sides to make a move.

“Okay, Dukey, what if you started?” Virgil suddenly speaks up, and Remus nearly falls over, surprised.

“Excuse me? I’m not doing anything,” he retorts.

“But Frozen proved that the love from a sibling can be as equally powerful!” Patton joins in.

“You know, even _I_ have my limits, I’m not going to kiss my own goddamn brother?!”

“Go hug him for fuck’s sake,” Deceit tells him.

“In case you all forgot, Roman and I don’t have the strongest of bond, but alright,” Remus groans.

Did he mention he didn’t like feelings and cutesy acts? Feels like he could complain forever.

He makes his way towards his brother, ready to be disappointed when nothing will happen. As his eyes land on the sleeping form of the Prince, Remus thinks of the time he was actually envious, jealous of him. There was a time, when Thomas was much younger, and more carefree, where Roman truly was the golden boy of the mindscape. Loud and all over the place, it was a thriving time for him while Remus watched in the distance, only glad to be able to feel through his connection with Roman a fraction of the love the boy received every single day from the other sides and Thomas.

Then, the years went by, and Roman and his abilities seemed to… weaken. It was gradual, so the other sides didn’t really notice, but Remus could. Remus noticed how the more time went by, the more control over the imagination and the mindscape he was getting too. And he knew it wasn’t a good sign because he despised feeling all this power suddenly given to him, he hated feeling the doubt and insecurity from Roman that didn’t exist a few years back joining his own twisted thoughts, messing with his head, he hated hearing the others diminish the benefits of a creative mind.

He hated… he hated not being able to help because if he tried, he made things worse and creativity look _bad_.

“There goes nothing, you better wake up, bro, or I’ll beat you up.”

That doesn’t make sense, no one tells him so. Remus simply wraps his arms around the other side and holds on tight. It is weird, the physical contact, especially when Roman cannot reciprocate, but Remus is honest enough to admit he missed it dearly and that he’s… oh, his eyes are wet.

He quickly pulls back before the tears fall down, hoping his makeup isn’t falling apart as he rubs his eyes, but then he looks at Roman who is still deeply asleep.

“Dammit,” Remus curses, “A sibling’s love is equally as powerful, my ass.”

As he feels an overwhelming sadness suddenly take over him, a hand gently rests on his shoulder, applying a reassuring pressure. When Remus looks up, he expects Deceit, instead, Logan is smiling at him.

“Do not fret, we don’t even know if this is the solution to bring Roman back. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Remus looks away, ignoring the strange feeling of comfort settling in him, but he nods weakly. Only then he notices something odd as he looks up — the sky is somehow clearer, with a hint of sunlight and warmth somewhere and Deceit, following his gaze, notices it too with a raise of an eyebrow.

Interesting.

The logical side then tightens his tie again and blushes when everyone else looks at him, clearly expecting him to go next. He’s never been good with displays of affection, and he is even worse with words, ironically enough. Logan just... has never known how to deal with feelings, or Roman’s… everything, really.

He cannot lie and say he’s never been at the very least a little bit intrigued by the Prince in the past. In a sense, they’ve always been the polar opposite of each other, making them clash more often than not. Reality against fantasy. Logan cannot help but feel this huge guilt in him, knowing he is the source of most of Roman’s insecurities.

“Lo?” He hears Patton’s concerned voice next to him. “You don’t have to do anything that might make you uncomfortable.”

Logan almost wants to laugh at the gentle tone from the fatherly side. Because, really, in the end, they all should worry about Roman’s consent here, but they can’t, and they have no other options at hand except wait, but they cannot wait.

And Logan is not exactly uncomfortable… he is more worried about whether Roman would be disgusted or not when he’ll learn what they’ve done.

“No, I’m just… I wish this would happen in other circumstances,” he admits, and the understanding looks from Patton and Virgil are enough for him to know they’re all thinking the same thing.

So, he slowly bends down, his face now just inches away from Roman’s. The prince’s subtle breath brushes against his cheeks and Logan gulps. Technically, he didn’t have to go for a kiss on the lips, he could just… go a little higher and rest a gentle kiss on the boy’s forehead, but…

But the temptation is too big.

It isn’t time for overthinking, Logan chastises himself, as he wonders for how long he’s just been staring at Roman’s sleeping face. With a nervous sigh, he cups Roman’s cheek with one hand, and then gives a chaste kiss to the sleeping and possibly cursed Prince. Logan can hear Patton’s squeal but ignores it as he pulls away, with slight disappointment when Roman’s eyes remain closed.

“Please, you better wake up and realise how much I— _we_, love you,” he whispers against the other’s unresponsive lips, then stands up straight again.

This time, the change in the imagination is more noticeable as the once grey ground they were standing on turns into luxurious grass, flowers littering it here and there to add a little colour. In the distance, they can see the magical forest make a comeback, prompting the dragon accompanying them to suddenly stand up on all fours and then fly over there, intrigued. Remus doesn’t try to stop him.

Logan feels — ah, _feels_ — an incredible amount of relief wash over him and…

“Geez, nerd, you’re the one crying now,” Deceit comments, but it’s not mean, Logan would even say there’s a touch of fondness in his voice, and Logan only laughs wetly, shaking his head when Patton walks forward, silently asking if he needs a hug.

“So, it seems like this silly plan actually works,” the logical side informs, still a bit overwhelmed. “Now, Dee, Pat, Virge?”

The three share a look, and somehow both Deceit and Patton end up looking at Virgil, who flushes beet red under the silent agreement from the other two sides.

“A-Alright,” the anxious side concedes, now taking Logan’s place, and then carefully sitting on the bed next to Roman’s form.

Virgil seriously doubts anything will really happen. It is not self-deprecation this time, or at least he believes he has every right to think he is not in the Prince’s good favours, even after all this time. They tolerate each other, and Virgil did notice Roman’s attempts at being kinder, and keeping nicknames at bay — though sometimes Virgil despises feeling like he’s being babied when Roman, Logan and Patton filter themselves to please him — but he, on the other hand… he doesn’t feel like he’s tried being friendlier with Roman, and maybe he just can’t, because that is how their dynamic works. Endless bickering leading up to an agreement and in the end they work… fairly well together.

Okay, they work _fucking perfectly_ well together. As Roman described it himself perfectly, Virgil provides that nervousness yet excitement before a performance Thomas feels, building the tension up only to then let it go at the exact right moment in order for Roman to shine even more. Alternatively, creativity is heightened by last-minute panic, so. 

But Virgil isn’t good with compliments, and he hates admitting Deceit does a better job than him to encourage others despite being the literal embodiment of lies. He’s cynical, critical, and bitter. He’s not sunshine, rainbow and love.

_Love._

Virgil always rejected Roman’s affection, hating the way his heart just seemed ready to burst out of his chest every single time the Prince hugged him or just touched him, some way or another. Sometimes, a simple smile would ignite that fire in the anxious side’s being, leading up to him responding with a scowl only and, in retrospect, there are many ways Roman could have interpreted those reactions as, well, disgust, or something very similar.

And Virgil might have told him in the past he doesn’t hate him, but suddenly, he doubts the creative side believed him with all this self-hatred and insecurity the latter built in himself.

With a nervous inhale, Virgil leans down, positioning himself right on top of the Prince, both his hands gently cupping the side’s face. Is it cliché to say he feels some sort of electricity where his fingertips graze Roman’s skin? Probably, but that’s what Virgil feels. He huffs at himself as he rests his forehead against the other’s, eyes closed.

Then, he simply kisses Roman as if he’s already done it a million times before, first a quick peck, and then a more lingering kiss — he tells himself it’s just in case the peck wasn’t good enough, deep down he knows he just couldn’t resist enjoying the light strawberry taste coming from the Prince’s lips he might never get to taste ever again.

When he pulls away, Roman’s eyes remain closed, however, he hears everyone else gasp in awe. As he sits up straighter on the bed again, Virgil takes a look around, eyes widening when he sees butterflies surrounding them.

“Pretty!” Patton exclaims, giggling when a bunch of colourful butterflies land on him. “You did this, Virgil!”

“Huh,” is Virgil’s only response, as a bright red butterfly comes to rest on his shoulder.

“Disgusting,” Remus complains when one decides to rest on his nose, but he’s smiling big anyway.

Butterflies aren’t the only things surrounding them now, because Virgil can spot a bunch of mystical birds flying above their heads, as well as various small and friendly animals hopping, running, walking around in the distance. The imagination is slowly getting its colours and life back, but something major is still missing.

Roman’s castle, and the towns.

The atmosphere seems far lighter and hopeful now, and Virgil hums to himself as he gets off the bed to let someone else take their turn now.

Deceit and Patton share yet another look.

Virgil, Logan and Remus take a step back, suddenly a bit wary about how this could go. They do not expect a fight, not when bringing Roman back seems so close now but these two just… clash. Patton is the embodiment of feelings, goodness and sunshine, yet, he has always despised Deceit. He is the only exception to his overflowing love.

However, Deceit is, in a sense, Roman’s knight in shining armour. He is the one who swore to protect the Prince, even from himself or from others. Both Deceit and Patton’s roles involve validating Roman, both see it as their duty to love and reassure Roman, and both failed.

And, surprisingly enough, the bad guy isn’t the one who likes to play the villain for the sake of being dramatic. The “bad guy” is the moral side who tries his best, who has the most control over Thomas’ mind and what is right or wrong to do, but undoubtedly cannot avoid making mistakes and unconsciously hurt people in the process.

“You first,” Deceit finally says with a respectful bow.

Patton seems taken aback, but he nods nervously.

“I told him I’d always be there for him,” the moral side can’t help but share. “I lied?”

“You didn’t,” Deceit reassures immediately. “You just couldn’t live up to your own promise, and that’s normal.”

“But—”

Deceit levels him with a simple look and raises an eyebrow, which is enough for Patton to shut up. 

Patton slowly takes the place he had before, laid next to Roman, wrapping him in a warm cuddle. It is weird, he thinks, remembering all the cuddle sessions they’ve had in the past, where Roman is actually the more fiercer cuddler, squeezing you strongly, yet gently, like not wanting to let go of the affection he is given at the moment. And right now, no arms are hugging Patton back.

But a hug won’t suffice, and Patton knows when his own feelings run far deeper for the princely side.

Both him and Roman are very affectionate sides, so it comes to no surprise that in the past, they shared more cuddles and kisses than any other sides. But, Patton realises, they’ve stopped doing this as often as they used to ever since Deceit revealed himself to Thomas and thus becoming a more prominent part of the mindscape.

Jealousy, maybe that was what drove Patton away, making him worried, worried that Roman would find Deceit more appealing. He’s always seen Deceit as a threat, for Thomas overall, but also for… well, for _him_. Because he couldn’t ignore the way Roman was just always drawn to the snake-like side, falling little by little for his charms and words and Patton— Patton still couldn’t trust Deceit.

He can’t truly be blamed, and fortunately, he doesn’t feel like Deceit, or any of the other sides actually blame him either, it is in his own nature to be against Deceit. He is _Morality_, lying is against his whole existence, and paired with the fact that Deceit is a direct rival for Roman’s heart, well… obviously, things couldn’t go well. At least that’s how Patton sees it.

He never realised how against Deceit only in particular he was before. Of course, he noticed Logan’s and Virgil’s infatuation for Roman in the past too, though the both of them repressed those feelings for a long time until forced out like a few moments ago, Patton was never bothered by it. After all, he and Roman never were explicitly in a relationship, and Roman is just the embodiment of the ego — he loves being loved, he loves the attention, he loves being cherished, he can never be _too_ loved (okay, that statement can be refuted), again, it’s in his nature to desire being full of pride, so Patton knew he couldn’t stop the others from showing him affection. Roman had enough love in his big heart for everyone anyway.

“Deceit?” Patton suddenly says, slightly turning around to glance at the other side.

Deceit jumps, a little startled to be called. He was facing away from the scene, and Patton can only guess why.

“I’m sorry, for distrusting you, and your means to protect Roman. All of this would have been avoided if I hadn’t been so eager to prove you only had ill intentions.”

Deceit’s face goes through several emotions at once, surprise, confusion, suspicion and finally softness, though he bites his lips before a smile could truly be drawn.

“I am a liar, after all,” the cold-blooded side answers. “I cannot blame you for doubting my intentions.”

“He’s used to it,” Remus adds.

And that’s… that’s sad, Patton thinks as he almost wants to quickly hug Deceit before returning to the task at hand, but Remus is quick on his feet, a huge smile on his face as he sneaks up his arms around Deceit’s waist from behind.

Deceit smiles into the hug, patting Remus’ head, to which Remus literally purrs.

Patton, a bit reassured and a lot lighter now, looks at Roman’s sleeping face again. It is a familiar scenario, again. Roman is a heavy sleeper. They’ve had countless movie nights that ended in cuddles, with Patton having to wake Roman up with little kisses all over his face, making Roman groan and laugh at the same time.

Gently, Patton cradles the Prince’s face in his hands and brings their lips together. No hesitation or doubts, but the moral side can’t help but sigh lovingly into the kiss, the taste so familiar yet foreign as they haven’t shared kisses in months, probably.

When he pulls back, his ears are ringing.

Literally.

A bell rings loudly in the distance, making all the sides jump at once, Patton falling off the bed, but being caught by Virgil and his incredible reflexes.

“The towns, the citizens!” Remus exclaims, oddly excited and happy and relieved. “They’re back!”

Patton cries happily against Virgil’s hoodie, who holds him close while rubbing his back. Logan seems a bit overwhelmed still, seeing houses and people in the distance just appearing out of nowhere and resuming a normal day as if nothing happened — the imagination is clearly not a place he would usually venture a lot in, really, everything is too fantasist and whimsical, but… something close to relief fills his heart at a particular realisation.

The only thing missing is the castle and Roman himself.

“Dee, looks like it’s your turn now,” Remus says, letting go of his best friend.

But Deceit looks suddenly more worried than he’s been the whole day.

“Wait, maybe it was a bad idea to let me go last, I could just fuck up everything–” 

“Nope, you are not second-guessing this now,” Remus chastises. “Don't be emo and just go kiss your Prince.” The Duke punctuated his words with a little shimmy and wiggle of his eyebrows. Deceit makes a face, momentarily forgetting his previous thoughts.

“Why does this still sound dirty from your mouth.” 

“Kissing can be as freaky as fu–” 

“Alright!” Virgil interrupts. “Roman is still unconscious!” 

“This is still somnophilia even though he probably would agree to this. Maybe he is worse than me after all!”

“You're a whole different species, more like,” Virgil supplies. 

“Aw, thanks!” 

As Deceit rolls his eyes, he does have to appreciate the distraction Remus provided, making him momentarily forget about his inner insecurity. As Virgil and Remus start to bicker – which is a familiar background noise, really – Deceit finally takes his place next to Roman. He sees Patton not so subtly jumping excitedly in place and giving him supportive and encouraging thumbs-ups, and he wonders if he’s trying to overcompensate for all the times he’s tried to separate him and Roman.

He probably is, though Deceit is also conscious he cannot be the full victim either — he enjoys playing the role of the villain too much to blame the others for being wary or afraid of him. No, that doesn’t bother him, because he likes playing pretend, especially with Roman’s hero complex making all of this even more entertaining, what bothers him is when it comes to their basic job as Thomas’ sides and they just throw him in the back as if his contribution wasn’t valuable at all.

Anyway.

They don’t have time for self-reflection and he isn’t about to hover over Roman’s unconscious face for a few minutes to collect his feelings like all the others did (he really had to stop himself from pushing them) and promptly leans down, planting a kiss on the Prince’s lips, then one on his cheek, lingering just a little more.

He pulls back, frowning when nothing happens immediately, and he can see all the others hold their breath, confused, scared and worried at once.

Well, shoot, maybe he shouldn’t have been this quick, then, Deceit thinks bitterly but then he stiffens, Virgil doing the same as if sensing something.

And then, it happens.

“Too bright! Too bright!” Deceit and Virgil both hiss as a bright white light suddenly surrounds them. Remus seems completely unbothered, as he only snaps his fingers to summon a sleeping mask on his face.

Logan covers his eyes too, meanwhile, Patton looks around a little bit worryingly. Did they do something wrong? Is something missing? Sure the plain white is probably better than the depressing grey they had at first but — it’s not reassuring!

But then, things slowly come into view again — but not nature, no, walls. Three beige walls appear around them, as well as a big window leading to a large balcony, decorated by bright red and gold curtains. Little by little, the room is filled by furniture and Patton squeals when he realises what is happening: Roman’s castle is reforming.

Speaking of the prince, Patton rushes towards him just as the bed changes from Remus’ summoning to Roman’s usual king-sized, fluffy bed, surrounded by way too many cushions, probably.

And then.

Then Roman opens his eyes.

The creative side groans softly as he tries to sit up but ultimately fails when, surprisingly enough, Remus is the first one to jump literally into action, tackling Roman back on the bed.

“Bro, you’re heavy…” is the first thing Roman says, prompting Remus to, well, stay there.

Virgil is pretty much crying, trying to hide it under his hoodie, while Logan is smiling softly, Patton is still jumping excitedly and Deceit observes with an amused and relieved glance.

“Serves you right for scaring us like that!” Remus complains, at last, flicking his brother’s forehead who whines.

“Hey, will you stop doing that! Wait— _us_?”

Remus huffs, finally releasing the Prince from his grip, still with a pout on his mouth, though, urging Logan to go pat him on the head, similar as what Deceit did earlier. It seems to do the trick as Remus settles down.

“Yeah, you dingus, we’re here,” Virgil says with a wet laugh when Roman’s eyes widen upon seeing everyone else around him.

“My dear stormy knight, I’ve missed you too,” the Prince replies, standing up and reaching out to the anxious side, thumbs immediately wiping the boy’s tears. “Never thought I’d see you cry of happiness upon seeing me, really.”

“Well, yeah, first time to everything I guess,” Virgil mumbles in response, blush as bright as ever, but he is smiling, looking into Roman’s finally open eyes. The literal stars in there are such a relief to see again, Virgil can already feel more tears welling up in his eyes.

“I’m sorry to interrupt the moment,” Logan slips in, not so subtly tugging at Roman’s sleeve for his attention now. He is clearly not sorry. Roman sends him a questioning look, before letting go of Virgil’s face to instead adjust Logan’s tie, then thread his fingers into Logan’s dishevelled, messy hair. Logan barely does anything to stop him.

“You look rather distressed too, specs,” Roman whispers softly.

“Of course I am!” the logical side shouts and oh, he’s close to tears too now. Again. “Are we going to ignore the state we found you in? Roman—” he cuts himself up, cupping Roman’s cheeks again. It’s the Prince’s turn to go bright red. “Tell us, everything. Your feelings, what happened, how it happened because… I don’t like knowing, but also, I— we were so worried and scared, I do not want it to happen again.” 

It’s silent for a few moments, as they all watch Roman biting his lips and looking down, hesitation clear on his face. Logan still doesn’t let go, trying so desperately to keep eye contact and finally have answers to make everything better…

“Roman,” Deceit speaks up, prompting Roman to look at him and Logan to also startle and let go of Roman’s face. “It might be time to tell the whole truth, to us, and to yourself.”

Roman looks quickly at Patton, Logan and Virgil, then at Deceit with something akin to astonishment in his eyes. The first three really can’t ignore the pang of guilt they feel at Roman’s blatant hesitation caused by them. It is like the Prince is waiting for their approval.

“Dee, I don’t know—”

“Little by little, here.” Deceit presents him his left hand, except his yellow glove has gone missing, scales on full display. Almost immediately, Roman takes his bare hand, without having Deceit ask him to do so. “Are you okay, right now?”

“I— yeah.”

Roman smiles softly, as their fingers intertwine. He is so comfortable with Deceit, Patton feels even worse now.

“Do you remember what happened? Before you blacked out?” Deceit then guides the previously unconscious side into opening up and Roman takes a deep breath.

“Not… in details. I know I wanted to explore the imagination to distract myself from, uh, my inability to create anything lately. And stuff. I hoped to get motivated again but then, I noticed things disappearing around me? I thought it was Remus messing with the imagination again, but then I guess I just… collapsed? There’s no real explanation, it happened. But…”

“But?” Deceit prompts, though none of the other sides miss the way he gulps, like afraid of what words would leave the Prince’s mouth.

“I’ve been telling myself for a while I wanted some rest — ducking out wasn’t enough as I would still obsess over negative comments and my nonexistent work, and I’ve been so tired of my own thoughts and all that, well, you know that Dee,” Roman eludes but the cold-blooded side shakes his head.

“I know, but they don’t,” he reminds him, which causes Roman to sigh, eyes stubbornly staying on Deceit, ignoring the concerned glances of the others, his brother included.

“Alright, I didn’t feel like I was needed anymore since every time I bring up Thomas’ dreams, they get brushed aside in favour of being a “good person" and I feel like the bad guy for being selfish even though I am the embodiment of ego so really I can’t help it,” Roman says. “What would have been the difference between me showing up and trying to plead my case, but ultimately getting guilt-tripped into giving up, and me not showing up at all when both scenarios would end up the same way? Alright, maybe I unconsciously made myself fall into whatever weird spell I was in, but at least I finally got some sleep.”

“You could have called me,” Deceit says simply, letting the others the time to process all of this. With his other hand, he gently removes a strand of hair in front of Roman’s eyes. “You know I can help with insomnia.”

“Didn’t want to bother you more than I already did before,” the Prince admits softly. “I’ve been doubting if all the attention you gave me were only because it is your role, and—”

“I care for you deeply, my Prince, I even love you, may I say” Deceit assures with a genuine smile. Roman blushes even harder, and seems ready to reciprocate the words, but gets cut off by the other, “And I am not the only side who would have done something to help, if only you had spoken up. I can only do so much, and, unfortunately, I failed at making you understand how important and loved you are, but, look around.”

And as soon as Deceit lets go of his hand, Roman finds himself with his arms full of a full-on sobbing Patton, hugging him fiercely, glasses crooked on the side, and cat hoodie almost gone from around his shoulders.

“I love you I love you I love you,” Patton chants, rubbing his face against the other side’s chest. “I’m sorry, so sorry for letting you believe anything else!”

“Hey there, Pat, my love, it’s okay,” Roman replies, gently cradling the back of Patton’s head in his hand. “Besides, the only fact I am now awake means that… um, you all found a way to wake me up? How did that happen by the way?”

“Somnophilia,” Remus repeats with a cackle, making Roman grimace and Virgil and Deceit groan.

“Remus, for fuck’s sake!” Virgil whines.

“What? You all kissed him while he was sleeping, I am still telling the truth!”

“Wait, you did what?!” Roman asks.

And… and that stops everything for a second. Patton stops sniffling, suddenly stiff in Roman’s arms. Logan coughs in his fist, looking away and trying to look unbothered. Virgil occupies himself by glaring at Remus who is smiling way too big. Deceit is the only one who doesn’t fully react, as he looks at Roman with an unimpressed eyebrow raise.

The two of them keep eye contact for a full ten seconds before laughing, making all the others confused.

“I’m kidding, I’m not mad,” the Prince admits, sticking his tongue out at Patton who pouts at him. “I’ll take back those stolen kisses at some point anyway.”

“So… everything is alright, now?” Logan wonders. “I still feel like I should apologise again Roman, for letting you believe you were not important.”

“Lo, it’s alright, I don’t blame any of you. Everyone here is just trying their best at helping Thomas,” Roman assures. “Besides I should apologise to you too.”

“You already did, countless times, and I appreciate your efforts, it is time for me to give back too.” Logan smiles. “Roman?”

“Mm?”

“It seems that I have developed quite the romantic interest in you,” the logical side confesses, and though he looks composed and confident, his cheeks are slowly going from a slight pink to a bright red, which makes Roman chuckle fondly.

“A weird way to say I love you, but I love you too, my awkward nerd.”

Patton squeals, Remus fake pukes on the side.

“Princey,” Virgil is the next one to speak up. “I’m not good with words, so just—”

The anxious side wastes no time, quickly grabbing Roman’s face and planting a chaste kiss on his lips. Roman gasps, a little surprised, but then reciprocates the kiss, despite the awkward position with Patton still in his arms who refuses to move.

“When I said nobody hates you,” Virgil says when he pulls back. “I really meant it. Please never forget that again.”

“Look who’s talking,” Roman replies back fondly. “Self-deprecating king.”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who did a Sleeping Beauty on us, alright?”

“Okay, fair point.”

Patton squeals, again, as he manages to bring Logan and Virgil into the hug, so the three of them are just engulfing Roman in a big old embrace that lasts for a solid five minutes at least before they get interrupted.

“Hey, full offence, but Dee was there first,” Remus chimes in to which Deceit rolls his eyes in amusement. Remus trying to be a wingman is really an image. “Are you seriously not going to talk about how you all basically want my brother? And I’m the weird one?”

“Sharing is caring!” Patton remarks. “Roman, you don’t mind, right? Four boyfriends doesn't sound bad, does it?”

“Don’t _you_ mind it?” the Prince retorts, and Patton lets out a nervous laugh because yeah, he doesn’t mind Virgil and Logan, but he’ll need some more time with Deceit. “And how does that even work, you all also have feelings for each other or—”

“Not really,” Deceit cuts him off. “Just for you. And you already confessed to me how you basically love everyone here, which is why you need everyone’s attention and approval.”

“Gosh, you make me sound so needy.”

“You are, though.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake Roman, they love you, you love all of them, you get all the attention you need to literally live, and everyone is happy!” Remus yells. “Can y’all get this over with I’m about to puke for real.”

“Well, now you know how we feel every time you open your mouth,” Roman huffs in response, pouting.

“Aw, love you bro!”

Roman rolls his eyes, but then. “I love you too, Rem, and thank you for caring.”

This shuts the Duke up who seems frozen for a few seconds, blinking heavily, but then he is smiling stupidly big but not in his usual demented way — the smile is soft, and pleased, though a little unsettled too.

He’s dreamed of hearing those words from his brother again for years.

Finally, Deceit takes a step forward again, approaching the four others carefully, though, of course, his whole attention is only on Roman. He takes the Prince’s hand he was holding earlier and brings it to his lips, pressing a kiss on its back.

“I usually am not one to share, but I will do an exception for you as this is what you both want and need, Roman,” Deceit confesses simply. “But, as it is still my duty to be by your side, there is no doubt only I can cater properly to your desires at any given moment, unlike any other.”

He sends a not so subtle glance towards Patton at those words, and the moral side smiles with a glint of determination and challenge in his eyes. Logan and Virgil share a look, then a smile.

If this turns into a competition for Roman’s attention from now on, and both Deceit and Patton think they’re the favourite ones, Logan and Virgil will certainly not back down anyway and will prove them wrong.

Roman, funnily enough, seems all flustered under all the attention suddenly, and barely manages to babble a coherent sentence after Deceit’s confession. Remus rolls his eyes.

He still has to find a way to keep an eye on everyone now to make sure his brother isn’t going to be hurt again. He trusts Deceit, not so much the others yet.

But, right now… Right now, he enjoys the fact he can feel Roman being happy again.

Hopefully, it isn’t temporary. Remus still hasn’t used his mace today, he doesn’t mind using it on one of the sides again if something were to happen.

**Author's Note:**

> that ending is a teeny tiny rushed, not gonna lie, i've never been good at finding endings to my writings...  
i honestly don't know if all of this makes?? any sense??? but anyway, hope y'all enjoyed  
i have a tumblr btw, it's [loveliestroman](https://loveliestroman.tumblr.com) but i haven't been really active there for now so idk follow me there if ya want :')


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